a term describing a controlled environment or situation in which people act or behave in ways that conform to roles pre-determined by a powerful person(s) who decides how the world is supposed to function.

Living on or within a matrix may also be referred to as "on the grid", with greater flexibility and choice available to those who venture off-the-grid.

After years of living a boring life, working 9-to-5 on the East Coast matrix, he relocated to Portland, Oregon, where he traded his car for a bicycle and started earning a living with his acoustic guitar.